


Lukewarm

by Lobster



Series: A Year of Haymitch and Effie Drabbles [19]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Introspection, POV Female Character, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 01:05:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19307512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobster/pseuds/Lobster
Summary: Fifty-two weeks, fifty-two prompts, fifty-two drabbles; this work is part of a series of Haymitch/Effie drabbles inspired by one-word prompts. This week's prompt: lukewarm.Effie's thoughts after her first year as an escort.





	Lukewarm

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! Your friendly klutzy author is back on her feet after last week! Nbd. :) And thanks as usual to the best beta ever, Juxtaposie!

Effie’s first year as an escort had been… eye-opening to say the least. She had chosen to work for the Games because she loved children, and hadn’t really thought of the consequences of seeing so many, some not much younger than herself, die, two of whom she had gotten to know over the course of the few short weeks pre-Games. It was tragic, and she wasn’t sure what had changed, but she couldn’t see the Games the same way she used to anymore.

Then there was the matter of Haymitch. Certainly, when she was younger, she’d admired him greatly. He was the celebrated Quell victor, hero of the greatest Games to ever take place. Only he hadn’t fit that role ever since, had he? He’d rather fallen into obscurity instead, after almost a decade with no victors to follow him from his district and the problem with the alcohol and the...  uncouthness. He’d certainly given her no reason to rethink that image in the time they’d worked together. In fact, he’d almost gone out of his way to be unpleasant to her.

Except…

There was kindness in the way he treated the tributes, even amongst his hopelessness. He still tried to make what he seemed to accept as their final days (despite Effie’s best attempts to remain upbeat) as nice as they could be, finding out their favorite foods and asking if they had any hobbies like drawing or reading that could be accommodated by the staff. Amaryllis, their girl, had turned out to make string bracelets out of something called embroidery floss, and Haymitch had seen to it that her stylist had provided enough for her to knot the colorful thin strings to her heart’s content. She and their boy, Reed, had each ended up wearing one as a token, as had Haymitch, Effie, their stylists, and both prep teams. Effie had caught her even trying to give some to the Avoxes before she stopped her. Both Reed and Amaryllis had died early, on the second and third days respectively, and Haymitch had sent the extra bracelets back to the families as a gift. Effie hadn’t known what to think.

Maybe there was more to him than just a surly drunk who… Effie refused to finish the thought. It was too mean now that she knew him. Just... Maybe there was more to him. And maybe a life as District 12’s escort wouldn’t be so bad, at least for a little while.


End file.
